WJZ-TV tops major newscasts in January with adult viewers

WJZ's first team

David ZurawikThe Baltimore Sun

WJZ-TV enjoyed one of its most successful ratings books ever in January winning all competitive weekday news time periods with viewers 25 to 54 years of age, the demographic on which most TV news ad sales are made. WJZ also won in total viewers in those time periods.

The CBS-owned station was Baltimore's leader at 5 and 6 a.m. in the locally-produced newscasts that precede network morning shows. WJZ was also number one at noon, 5, 6 and 11 p.m. The last time that happened was in 2008, when WBAL, WJZ's long-time rival, topped all newscasts.

WJZ's big month begs the question as to what's going on at WBAL, which has been struggling with the loss of "Oprah" as a lead-in to its 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts and a dismal NBC prime-time fall lineup that has failed to deliver for the Hearst-owned stataion's 11 p.m.

In July, the station also did not renew Marianne Banister as its first-team co-anchor with Rod Daniels. The station, which has been running Daniels solo at 11 p.m. since Banister's departure, will add Donna Hamilton to its 11 p.m. anchor desk starting Sunday after the Super Bowl, according the Dan Joerres, the station's general manager.

Joerres told the Sun last week that bringing Hamilton on at 11 "is not a ratings decision or anything like that." Read that here.

Indicative the way WBAL is struggling, on some nights in January, Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" on Comedy Central was seen by more viewers 25 to 54 years of age than Channel 11's late news.